Hope
by Felinxx
Summary: Brennan has a secret to tell that leaves Booth speechless.
1. Chapter 1

**It's my last day of Christmas break and I spent it writing this one shot. I hope you like it :)**

 **Big thanks to NatesMama for editing! If you haven't read her stories, go do it, they're great! :) **

**Enjoy reading**

* * *

It was one of those evenings he loved. He'd brought take out to her apartment because they still had some things to discuss. Temperance Brennan and Seeley Booth never were off work.

She was currently on the phone with her publisher and had moved to her bedroom. That's why he took his time to look around her apartment. He knew this place by heart, had been here countless times. It was very comfortable, very _Bonesy_. But every time he came here he found something new. There were all those artifacts which she'd brought from some exotic digs. Then there were pictures all around the room; some of Bones and Angela, some of Bones and Parker and some of Bones and himself. He loved looking at those pictures. They always reminded him of how far they had come in those three years of their partnership.

Their beginning was a bit bumpy at first but Booth knew from the very first time he'd seen her in the lecture hall at American University that they belonged together; both in a professional _and_ in a personal manner.

He sighed as he placed one of the pictures of the both of them back to his rightful place on the shelf. Friends. They were just friends. That's all she wanted at the moment. And even though he wanted nothing more than to be _more_ than that, he accepted her whishes and waited for the day when they would finally move beyond that line.

He turned around and walked back to the couch where he took their now cold meals into the kitchen; ready for reheating once she was finished.

Back on the couch he took a sip of his beer and took the anthropology journal that lay on the table. _'Might as well read something while she's still on the phone.'_ And though he wished for better reading material, he opened it somewhere in the middle.

He was curious as three Polaroid pictures fell out of it as he turned a page. Without thinking he turned them around and he nearly choked. There on those pictures were his Bones; although a very, very young Bones in a hospital bed. And in her arms she cradled a tiny bundle which was undoubtedly a _baby_.

' _Bones has a baby? No! She would have told me, wouldn't she? We… we're best friends. We don't have any secrets. There has to be another explanation!'_

"Booth, I'm so sorry! Erica tried to pressure me int-" She stopped immediately in her tracks as she say Booth's shocked expression and the photos in his hand. Her own eyes went wide in shock.

"Where- Where did you find those?! They're… You don't have the right to…" She hurried to him and ripped the pictures from his grasp, holding them to her chest protectively.

"Bones…I-I don't understand. Who's that in those pictures?" He shook his head in confusion. "I mean, I know it's _you_. That's obvious but… the baby? Who is the baby?"

Instantly her eyes filled with tears "I think you should go now, Booth."

"Oh no, Bones." He got up and stepped in front of her. "You can't shut me out now." He searched for her eyes but she wouldn't look at him.

"I can and I will! I want you to forget what you just saw and I want you to go now!"

He stood there for a moment, just looking at her. After a few moments he took her hand in his own and softly brushed away her tears with the other.

"It's yours." He then whispered. It wasn't a question, it was an observation. A truth she could no longer deny, and with a sob she threw herself into his arms and began crying.

"She is. She's my baby." She whispered through the tears before her voice failed her completely.

Booth dragged her over to the couch where he sat them both down and he immediately encircled her with his arms, capturing her in a warm embrace.

"It's okay, Temperance." He whispered again and again, all the while stroking her hair or placing soft kisses to her forehead.

After a while her tears had subsided and she just enjoyed being in his arms; tired from her break down. Neither of them said a word for a long time, and Booth was sure she'd fallen asleep; but she hadn't.

"I gave her away because I wanted her to have a better life than I had."

Booth had to strain his ears in order to hear her words. "Why didn't you ever say anything?" he asked, just as quietly.

"No-one knows. Not even Angela."

"Your dad?"

She shook her head. "No-one."

He again placed a kiss on her forehead "Okay."

He wanted to know what had happened back then, why she was pregnant at such a young age and why she didn't trust anyone with it. But he was afraid of being shut out, afraid of overwhelming her.

After a while he jostled her gently "Show me those pictures again, huh?" She nodded and handed him back the pictures which she'd held clutched to her chest the whole time.

"What's her name?"

She stroked tenderly over the little face imprinted in the picture. "Hope. Her name is Hope." she whispered.

He smiled at that. "I like that. It fits her."

She nodded. "Do you think she has a good life now?" In this moment she wasn't the famous anthropologist and best-selling author Dr. Temperance Brennan. She was that 15 or 16 year old teenager that had to grow up far too quickly. In her eyes Booth saw the insecurities of a mother who wanted the best life for her child. A mother who gave up her most precious treasure. It broke his heart to see her that way.

"I don't know, Bones." He sighed loudly. "I wish I could tell you something different, but I don't know."

Resignation showed in her eyes but she didn't answer anything.

"Bones, can I ask you something?"

She could sense his insecurity and so she smiled "Booth, I just told you my biggest secret, so yes, you can ask me anything."

He took a deep breath before he began. "How did it happen?" He didn't cast blame, he was just curious.

At the question Brennan grew pale, but she promised to answer him; and so she did "I just turned 16. My- my foster father… he was a monster. The minute I came into their home he terrorized me; humiliated me, really. And after months of threatening me, finally one day, he… he raped me." Again her voice broke and she had to fight back tears. She had never spoken about this aloud and she'd thought she'd be over it by now. But talking about it now with Booth brought up all her feelings again.

Booth had to physically restrain himself from punching something. He'd imagined several scenarios involving her secret pregnancy, but sexual assault had been the last thing on his mind. Instead of getting violent, however, he just embraced her harder. He didn't talk yet, sensing that she wasn't ready.

"I couldn't do anything, Booth. I-I tried to fight him, but he was just so strong…"

"It's okay, Temperance. It wasn't your fault. It was his, okay? I don't want you to ever think that you did something wrong, you hear me?" He searched for her eyes but instead of meeting his gaze she continued.

"The moment my foster parents found out that I was pregnant they sent me back to the group home."

Booth snorted "What kind of people were they?! Did you tell anyone what happened?"

"I told my foster mother but she just laughed at me and called me a slut. Said it was my fault. But she didn't believe me when I said it was her husband. Neither did the case worker. So I never told anyone after that."

By now she had composed herself a little again. "Do you understand now why I gave her away, Booth? I didn't have any money; I was back in the system, I couldn't take care of her like she deserved."

"Yeah, I understand, Temperance. You did the right thing." Again he couldn't stop himself from kissing her forehead. "I'm proud of you, Bones."

She smiled a little and looked back to the pictures still in Booth's hands.

"The moment I held her in my arms was amazing, Booth. I-I know it sounds stupid because I was only 16 but it was the most wonderful moment in my life."

Booth nodded. "It doesn't sound stupid at all, Bones. You're her Mom, it doesn't matter how old you were."

They fell back into silence again until Booth broke it after a few minutes.

"Did you ever try to find her?"

She shook her head. "I don't want to interrupt her life, Booth."

"But what if she want's to meet you herself? I mean, she's 16 now."

"I can't, Booth." Suddenly she sounded desperate. "I could never meet her and then let her go again, live as if nothing had happened."

"You wouldn't have to do that, Bones, what-"

"No, Booth! Please stop convincing me of something I don't want!"

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry… But… I do want to thank you, Bones."

"For what?"

"For trusting me with this. I promise your secret is safe with me. And I'm so incredibly proud of you."

She just smiled and laid her head back on Booth's chest. It felt good to having told someone about her daughter. All those years she had carried that burden all by herself. Now with Booth she had someone to talk about it. Someone who would share her memories with her and someone would who hold her when she needed a shoulder.

"Hey, you haven't eaten anything of your dinner earlier. How about we reheat that now, huh? You can't skip dinner, Bones." He said after a while.

She nodded "I find that I'm quite hungry, Booth."

With that he stood up, placed one last kiss on top of her head and walked into the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned with their once again steaming meals and placed them on the table in front of them.

His gaze fell again on the three pictures with the tiny baby, which still lay there. Maybe someday Bones would decide to go meet her. And if she did, then he would be here for her; would support her. He believed that meeting would be good for both of them, mother and daughter. But he wouldn't pressure Bones into anything.

Deep inside he knew that someday she'd come to him and together they would search for her daughter. After all, there's always Hope.

* * *

 **Please let me know what you think :)**

 **xx**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hiii :)**

 **So actually this was planned as a one shot and I simply forgot to mark it as completed. But then I was _completely_ overwhelmed by your response! I've never gotten so many favorites, follows and reviews for one single chapter! Thank you so much guys! I'm so happy! :) **

**So I decided to continue this. I don't know how many chapters I'll get out of it though. We'll see :)**

 **Someone who can't be forgotten: NatesMama!! Thanks for the edit :) **

**Let's move on to the 2nd chapter then. I hope I don't disappoint.**

 **Enjoy :)**

* * *

A few months later…

"Bones, have you seen my phone?" The FBI agent came into the living room, a frantic look on his face.

"I don't know, maybe it's in one of the five trousers which lay scattered all over my place and you refuse to pick them up.

He narrowed his eyes at her but let the snarky comment slip. But only because he had to leave for work and he really needed his phone.

"Okay, you know what? I'll find it when I come home tonight." He told her before placing a kiss on her cheek. "Bye Bones, love you."

It still thrilled him every time he said those words. They were in a relationship now – a serious loving relationship and he couldn't be happier. A few weeks ago he'd asked her out on a date and to his surprise she'd accepted. Things went smoothly from there.

However today he didn't hear a response to those words. She had been nervous and snarky all day and he really had no idea what was wrong with her. _She works too much. Even on her day off she's here writing on a new chapter for her book. I really have to change that._

"Bones, how about you go and visit Pops today, huh? I bet he'd be thrilled to see you and have you all for himself."

"Can't, I have work to do." She answered without looking away from the laptop screen.

He sighed "Okay, what's wrong, tell me."

"Booth, would you please just go now? I'm trying to concentrate here! And you're late already!", she screamed at him.

"Whoa, okay okay, no Pops then," he said with his hands raised in surrender. "I'm leaving, see?" He walked backwards out of the apartment. "No reason to be so touchy."

She sighed in relief when she heard the door close. She loved him. She really did. That's one of the things she came clear about. And she loved having him around as often as possible. That's why he practically lived in her apartment now. But today was just one of those days where she needed to be alone. She took one day off work because she didn't want to talk to anyone. No exceptions.

Booth meanwhile puzzled his head over what he possibly could have done wrong but he couldn't think of anything. They had a very pleasant evening yesterday. First dinner, then a movie and then they'd moved their date to bed. No complaining there from her. They fell asleep sometime between 3 and 4am and the last words he heard from her were _"I love you, Booth."_ And then _BOOM!_ Hurricane Temperance descended upon him first thing this morning. He loved that woman to bits and pieces but sometimes he really didn't understand her.

Anyway, he had to focus on work now. There was so much paperwork to catch up on. Tonight, he decided, to talk to her in earnest. Something had to be bothering her. And he couldn't stand her not feeling good. Normally he would call her now or at least send a text to her. He knew that given some time she would often calm down again. But why of all things had his phone decided to mock him today?

Sighing to himself, Booth concentrated on his paperwork. After all, the faster he got it all done the faster he'd see her again and they could talk things out.

Later that evening he opened the door to her apartment with a bouquet of mums in his hands. "Bones, you there?"

"Yes, I'm here." She said when she appeared in the hall. "You're late."

He'd prepared himself for Hurricane Temperance 2.0 but he was relieved to see that it wasn't anger shining in her eyes, but concern.

"Yeah you know, I really wanted to bring you some daffodils but I tried every damn florist in DC and they all say it's just not the season. So I brought you mums because I think they're pretty too."

She had to smile softly at him standing there with his puppy dog eyes. And she felt bad for him because he obviously thought her emotional outburst this moment was his fault. So she stepped in front of him and took the flowers before stepping into his embrace.

"They're beautiful, Booth. Thank you."

He sighed in relief as he held her tightly to his chest, stroking his hands up and down her back and burying his face in her hair. No matter what had bothered her this morning, he knew that everything would be okay.

"Bones?" He asked after a few seconds.

"Hmm?" Was her muffled but content reply against his shoulder.

"Will you tell me what was wrong this morning?" He loosened his hold on her in order to be able to look her in the eye.

"I will, but first…" She began and disappeared only to come back seconds later with his phone. "I found this under my pillow." She grinned up at him apologetically.

"Well I always thought that damn thing lives a life on its own." He grinned back at her before taking the phone and pressing a loving kiss to her lips. "Come on, let's talk." He took her hand and dragged her over to the couch where he sat down and pulled her next to him. She snuggled into his side immediately and laid her head on his shoulder; closing her eyes for a moment.

"I didn't mean to be so touchy this morning, Booth." She began quietly after a few moments while she fiddled with his fingers.

"It's okay, Bones."

"No, it's not. It's not your fault but I- it's just…" She took one deep breath before she continued. "It's her birthday today."

"Whose birthday?" He was slightly confused but then it darned on him. "Hope? It's Hope's birthday today?"

"Yes." She said while brushing a lone tear from her cheek.

He sighed and put a finger under her chin so she had to look up at him. "Baby, why didn't you tell me? You know, you're allowed to be sad because of that. Or even touchy. But I have to know things like this. How else will I be able to support you?"

By now her tears were falling freely and she buried her face in his chest. "I'm sorry, Booth. It's just so new to me… For years I hadn't anyone to talk about her and now with you… I still think I have to bottle all my emotions up."

"But you don't have to do that, Temperance. I love you, and I want to know what's going on with you. I hate seeing you suffer but what's worse is seeing you suffer and not knowing the reason why."

"I'm sorry." She whispered through tears.

"It's okay, Temperance." He also whispered and held her tight to his chest. "It's okay, just… tell me what I can do to make you feel better."

She shrugged her shoulders so he continued "How about I cook you dinner and after that you'll get a nice long bath, huh, sounds good?"

"Yes," she smiled up at him through still teary eyes. "Thank you, Booth. I love you."

"I love you too." He said and after one final kiss to her forehead he untangled himself from her and went into the kitchen.

He hated the thought of her succumbing to grief the whole day on her own. And he cursed himself for not talking with her about Hope more often. Instead he'd waited for her to come to him every time. He didn't want to pressure her. That definitely had to change. Well not the pressure part for that matter.

After some time in front of the stove he felt two arms encircle his waist from behind. He smiled, grabbed her arm and brought her in front of him.

"What's on your mind?" He asked after stealing a few kisses from her.

"I- Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, Baby, anything."

"I want you to find her for me."

Booth was surprised. "You want to meet her?"

She took a deep breath and answered "Yes, I want to meet my daughter."

* * *

 **Please leave me a review and let me know your thoughts :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Helloooo, it's me :)))**

 **Here's the next chapter. I don't know how many more there'll be. Probably only one or two. Let's see :)**

 **For now: enjoy reading!**

 **Thanks to NatesMama for editing!**

* * *

„I can't do this!" She threw the dress she'd just taken out of the closet onto the bed. "It was a stupid idea! I don't know what I was _thinking_!" she huffed, exasperated. "I wasn't even thinking, it was merely a-"

"Stop it right there!" Booth had heard her outburst from the living room and was now standing in front of her, both hands on her shoulders. "You have to calm down, Honey. Everything will be okay."

She considered his words not even for a second. "No! _No!_ Booth, I don't want to do it, please don't make me…" She looked at him with pleading eyes.

It had taken him a long time to make her wish come true; to find her daughter. And he wouldn't let this little emotional outburst destroy everything he'd worked so hard for over the last few months. He'd known that she would be overwhelmed at some point and he was prepared for that.

"Temperance, listen to me. I know this situation is scary for you because it's new to you; you have nothing to compare it to. But trust me, everything's going to be all right. And you're not alone in this, Bones. I'm with you all the way."

She exhaled deeply and launched herself into his arms "I'm sorry, I just… it's…"

"Yeah, it's okay," he spoke calmly after kissing the top of her head. "It's all right. Let's just finish up packing your stuff, huh? Our flight's leaving soon. Hope is waiting."

She nodded and stepped back again exhaling.

"Oh, you absolutely have to take this. You look so gorgeous in it!" Booth held up the just- discarded dress.

"Hush, Booth!" She snatched it out of his grasp. "I want to meet _my daughter_. This dress doesn't seem appropriate at all."

"How about you let me decide what's appropriate and what's not, huh?" He said with a cheeky grin while he took the black dress from her again and put it into her suitcase. "So, what else do we have here?"

* * *

She had been a nervous wreck for the last nine hours. On the flight to California she could barely close her eyes for a few minutes. Not even Booth could distract her from all the worst-case scenarios forming in her mind. So after arriving in their hotel room – and even though she was exhausted – they'd left their luggage without unpacking and were now heading towards their destination.

The little restaurant in front of them was the place where they would meet Hope and suddenly Brennan stopped in her tracks, staring at the building. Her feet wouldn't move forward.

Booth sensed her anxiety and squeezed her hand gently "You ready?"

Brennan took a deep breath and shook her head. "I- I don't know…"

Booth smiled and placed a kiss on the back of her hand. "You can do this. And I'm there with you; right by your side."

She only mastered a half-smile. Too many thoughts were running through her head at the moment. She was thankful for Booth starting to walk and dragging her along with him. Had she been alone she would have stood there forever; she was sure of that. Together they went inside and took a seat in a secluded corner for greater privacy.

"Baby, calm down." He placed a hand on her trembling leg under the table. "She'll be here soon."

"What if she won't come after all? I'd understand, I wouldn't come either if some random people asked me…" Her voice was desperate now.

"You're not random, you're her mother, so stop worrying. She'll come."

They saw her the minute she stepped into the little restaurant. Bones watched her transfixed, as she spoke with the waiter, possibly she was asking him where they were seated.

The moment she looked in their direction Booth was shocked, as there was no doubt she was Bones' daughter. Standing in the middle of the restaurant was a little version of his girlfriend; same beautiful eyes, same beautiful features. Under the table Brennan had a death-grip on his hand that grew even tighter with every step the girl took in their direction.

"Excuse me, are… are you…" Her voice died down when she locked gazes with Brennan.

Booth decided to start talking when he sensed that Brennan was too shocked to answer her. "Hi, my name is Seeley Booth. But… just call me Booth. We've already talked on the phone. I'm your mom's boyfriend."

She nodded without even looking at him; her gaze was fixed on Brennan as was Brennan's on her. "So, you are my- my mother?" she whispered.

Brennan nodded "Yes, I guess that's obvious. You look just like me…"

The awkward silence returned briefly. Neither knew what to say until Hope snapped. "I- I gotta go… Forgot an appointment. Sorry…" And before either Booth or Brennan could say something else the girl had stormed out of the restaurant.

 _No! No, no, no, no, no…. Please don't… Bones, she's so you…_

Immediately Brennan started to panic "I told you, Booth. I told you! She doesn't want to know me!"

"I got this, okay? Just wait." Booth gave her a quick kiss on the forehead before he too ran out of the restaurant in the direction the young girl had run off.

Minutes later he found her hunched over on one of the benches in the near park.

"You found me…" she whispered when he sat down next to her.

"Well, I'd say a public park isn't the best hiding place." He grinned at her but the girl just glanced at him. "You wanna talk about it?", he continued in a more serious tone.

She just shook her head; no words needed.

And so he waited. If she was just a little bit like Bones – and from that little tirade just minutes ago he could tell that in fact she was – she would talk when she was ready.

He didn't have to wait long. "I… I shouldn't have come…"

"Why? Don't you want to meet your mom?"

"She's not my mom!" she told him angrily.

"She's the woman who gave birth to you, that makes her pretty much your mom, don't you think?"

"Fine! Then she's the woman who… who carried me but that's it! She doesn't even know me!"

"Well that's what we're here for. She wants to get to know you."

"Why now all of a sudden? She didn't care about me for the first 16 years of my life."

"That's not true. You should give her a chance to explain everything to you."

"I don't want to! I don't care about her!"

"Okay, and why did you agree to come here then?"

She just huffed and crossed her arms in front of her chest. Booth smiled to himself. Even if she didn't know it, she was so much like her mother.

Again they sat in silence for a while, during which Booth handed her the small photo which he'd brought from home.

She gasped at the image, her shivering hand covering her mouth. "Is that…?"

"Yeah, that's you and your mother on the day you were born."

She couldn't help herself caressing the small photo with a finger. "I've never seen a photo of me as a baby…" she whispered.

Booth smiled sympathetically; feeling sorry for the young girl.

"She's pretty."

"Yeah, you kinda look like her, you know?"

She gave him a small smile. The first one since they'd met. "Yeah, I know…"

The agent nudged her shoulder with his gently. "How about you give her a chance? Let her explain everything to you and then you can decide how things go from there, huh?"

Hope contemplated his words; her bottom lip caught between her teeth. "I made her angry, didn't I?"

Booth shook his head. "Right now? She's terrified that I'll come back without you. And I know she's thinking about how she's going to deal with that."

She sighed defeated "Then we better head back, huh?"

* * *

 **How do you think this meeting will go? Let me know by leaving me a review :)**

 **xx Felinxx**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys :)**

 **I know it's been a while since the last chapter came up but my life has reeeally been crazy lately. I did exams (passed exams) in Uni, quit my job, quit my hobbies, got a new hobby aaaand so on... Now I finally have some time to breath again. So this is what I wrote for you :)**

 **Thanks so much for the followings, reviews, favorites that keep coming even though I don't upload very often. That really means the world to me :)**

 **Big thanks as always to NatesMama for editing my chapter and making it better! :)**

 **So I hope you guys like it, enjoy reading :)**

* * *

 _Damn, why_ _had he ever thought that this would be easy?! Nothing with this woman was ever easy!_ The agent stood in the middle of the restaurant, Hope – looking a little lost – standing right beside him; but his partner was nowhere to be seen. Their table was empty, void of any traces that the pretty anthropologist had ever sat there.

Booth sighed aloud and turned to the girl next to him. "I'm sorry, kid, I guess we have to meet another time." He sounded defeated. "Your mom, she's scared, you know. But she'll come around, I promise. I make sure of that."

"Booth?"

He turned around quickly, a smile already on his lips. And before Brennan could say a word he'd caught her in a hug, leaving a kiss on her mouth. "You're here! I thought you were gone!"

The scientist was a little taken aback at the stormy greeting. "I just had to use the toilet…" Then she looked to her daughter and smiled slightly "And you, you came back." And she couldn't stop herself from stroking her cheek gently.

The girl just nodded without making eye contact, leaning into the touch nevertheless.

"Maybe we could go somewhere else?" Brennan disentangled herself from Booth's embrace. "This is hardly a place for such a conversation."

Her two companions nodded and they made their way back to the little park in search of a quiet spot.

* * *

After some time, they'd settled under a shade-giving tree and for a while they were uncomfortably quiet.

Booth silently looked to Brennan, urging her on to say something. This was her part to do. She needed to do start it.

As if she could read his mind – metaphorically speaking – she looked to the little girl who looked so much like her. "Hope, I-"

"My name's not Hope!" The sixteen-year-old crossed her arms defiantly in front of her chest and turned fiery blues on Brennan. "I'm Lauren! What kind of a name is _Hope_ anyway?"

 _And here we go,_ Booth thought. This would not be an easy conversation.

Brennan sucked in a breath at that "I named you _Hope_ , I won't call you _Lauren_! I named you like that for a reason, you know! Lauren is not your real name!" she turned her own flaming eyes right back at her daughter.

The girl huffed "It is! You can't just come around after sixteen years and tell me _'Hey, how're you? How's your life been? Oh… I'm your real mom by the way, and oh – your name is Hope'_!"

Brennan started to say something but was cut off by Booth. He placed a gentle hand on her knee in order to calm her down. "Bones, let her have that, okay?"

" _Booth!_ "

"Trust me, Temperance, okay?"

She shook her head slightly as in not understanding but gave in at the least. "Okay, _Lauren_ , so I-I'm really happy you're here. I missed you all those years."

Again the sixteen-year-old huffed "Yeah, I bet…"

And Brennan's new found composure was gone. "Why can't you talk to me normally?! I'm trying to start a conversation here!"

She jumped up tensely. "Cause you're _not_ normal! You're the woman who _abandoned_ me! You left me! For sixteen years I knew who I am and suddenly you appear and everything is different! And still you want me to welcome you as if nothing's ever happened!" She screamed snidely. "Well thanks for nothing!"

Now it was Brennan's turn to jump up as well, she couldn't hold herself back anymore. How could that girl be so egoistic? "Stop judging me without knowing anything! I did what was best for you! I gave you away for adoption because I couldn't give you everything you deserved! I was barely older than you are at the moment and I was in the foster system for God's sake!"

"Yeah, well I give you a tip there; next time, use condoms! Or was he a too good fuck to consider something like that? Oh I bet you wanted it fast and hard, no time for prevention!"

"Okay, that's _enough_!" Booth had to cut in there. He stood up to and stepped in between the two arguing women but none of them seemed to realize he was even there.

"You actually want to hear that you were planned? I have to disappoint you there; you were _not_! You do not have the slightest clue how it happened so don't you dare make assumptions! I was sixteen myself but still, I carried you for nine months in my belly and I _loved_ you! Believe it or not, I loved you all those sixteen years! And I love you right now even though you don't make it easy for me at the moment. And maybe you think of me as a bad person, then so be it. But _I know_ that at that time I did what was best for you!" She was trembling now, her tears running freely down her cheeks.

"That's what you say! But maybe you did just what was best for _you_! You didn't want to have me as a _burden_!"

Brennan refused to look at her daughter any longer but suddenly spoke calmly again. Maybe almost too calm.

"Go."

There was no room for argument. But still the girl was shocked. "What?"

"I want you to _go!_ " This time she spoke it louder, more vehemently.

The girl considered her words for a moment as if pondering if Brennan really meant what she'd said. And after a few moments she turned around without another word., shoulders sagging in defeat.

The minute she was gone, Brennan couldn't hold anymore. She drew herself into Booth's arms, sobbing loudly. "Booth, I-I ruined everything."

"Oh Bones…" Booth hugged her as hard as he could without actually crushing her. "I'm so sorry. But no… you didn't ruin everything." After a few moments he leaned back a bit and brushed away her freely falling tears. "Those things you just said to each other? Those had to be said. You two needed to get that out of your system. Just give her some time, she'll come around, okay?"

She looked up at him with big, pain-filled eyes that nearly crushed his heart. "You promise?" she whispered.

He nodded "Yes. I promise." He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. "I promise."

He didn't know if the sixteen-year-old actually wanted to speak to her mother again but he instantly hoped so. If not, it would break her completely.

"I want to go back home." Her voice sounded dull and broken.

He nodded. "I'll book the first flight back tomorrow."

* * *

 **Soooo what do you think happens next? Please let me know :)**

 **xx Felinxx**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys,**

 **again I'm sorry for keeping you waiting for so long. But I promise eventually I'll finish this :D Even though I might finish this story first before finishing There's No Going Back because it seems like I'm not able to write two at a time... :D**

 **Anyways, how do you feel about our series ending so soon? There are only 8 days left of shooting :(**

 **Thanks to my beta NatesMama! Go and read her stories, they're great! **

**And thanks to my friend Maren who helped me finding the right words when I couldn't remember them neither in English nor in German :D **

**Aaaaand last but definitely not least: Thanks to all of you who took the time to give me a review! Every single one makes me happy. Same goes for favorites and follows! :)**

 **Enjoy reading :)**

* * *

"Temperance, you have to let her go now." The middle-aged woman standing beside the hospital bed held her arms out in order to take the sleeping baby out of Temperance's embrace.

"No!", she told her vehemently, her voice broken and throaty due to her stuffed nose. She turned away from the woman whose name she hadn't even bothered to learn. Wanting to shelter her daughter from any harm, she gently stroked across the tiny chubby cheek of the sleeping baby.

"Temperance, it is really time now. Her parents are waiting for her outside. You don't want to keep those people waiting, do you?" The case worker gave the 16-year-old a stern look that went unnoticed.

"I'm her mother," she whispered, again not daring to look away from the tiny human in her arms.

"Temperance, you agreed to the adoption! Now is definitely not the time for a discussion of this sort! You have to-"

"Five minutes" was all she said then. "Please, give me five more minutes with her."

The woman sighed dramatically but eventually gave in. "Five minutes, then you'll hand her over without any arguments!"

Temperance just nodded before turning the world off around her. "Hey my angel," she whispered softly to the barely an hour old baby and instantly her eyes were filled with new tears. "I love you so much and I'm so sorry to fail you, to not be able to look out for you. You have to be strong now, though, okay?" The baby squirmed slightly and snuggled deeper into her mother's arms. Temperance bent down and kissed the little girl's forehead. "I know you will. You _are_ strong." Her voice quivered but she tried hard to keep it together. There was so much she wanted to tell her and she only had a few minutes left.

Trying desperately to memorize every inch of her daughter she stroked her middle finger over the little hand and instantly it was incased in the little fist. "Please don't think that I didn't love you when you grow up. I love you more than anything, more than I ever thought was possible and all I'm doing now is making sure that you're well cared for. There are people who can take care of you better than I can-"

"Temperance, you're time is really up now." Again, the case worker stepped near to her bed and finally took the baby out of her mother's arms, but not before the young girl could place one last kiss on the baby's forehead and squeeze her little fist soothingly.

She watched the woman leave the room and even though she never thought it possible, it felt like someone had ripped her heart out and broke it into a million pieces. She turned around, clutched the hospital blanket to her chest and cried for her loss. "Please… please don't do this to me! Please, bring her back!"

"Temperance."

"No, please, bring her back."

 _"_ _Temperance, it's okay, shhh."_

She cried out as she sat up straight in bed. Booth was by her side instantly and engulfed her in a hug, not bothering to stroke her tears away. He knew it was pointless at the moment. "It's alright shhh. You're okay, Temperance." He looked at the clock. It was nearly 2 o'clock in the morning, she'd only slept for about two hours. The past evening they had talked about the day, Brennan being too shaken to fall asleep. It was nearly twelve when exhaustion took over and she fell asleep.

"I didn't want to give her away, Booth. I didn't." She cried into his neck, her fingers clutching his shirt.

"Yeah, I know that, baby, I believe you." He swayed gently hoping it would sooth her eventually.

"But she doesn't. She thinks I abandoned her."

"You're going to resolve that, Bones. She will understand eventually."

Brennan shook her head vehemently but still not leaving the crook of his neck. "She doesn't want to talk to me anymore. I was so angry today."

"I told you both of you had to get that out of your system. Those were sixteen years of emotional turmoil breaking out of you. Next time you two can speak normally, you'll see."

"No." She pushed herself out of his embrace. "Don't you understand? She won't talk to me anymore! I pushed her away once and for all."

Booth sighed and took her hand in his again. Actually he wanted to wait to tell her until the next day after a good night of sleep but now he feared she wouldn't go back to sleep again until she could settle down again. "She's going to come here in a few hours, Bones. She wants to understand. And she's sorry, too."

Brennan tilted her head slightly and squinted her eyes. "How do you know?" Her voice suspicious.

The agent sighed again and scratched the back of his head, not liking the tone of her voice one bit. "I… may have talked to her while you were in the shower…"

"You did _what_? Why? How? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Listen Bones," he held onto her hand harder even though she wanted to withdraw it from his grasp. "I didn't book a flight just yet because you two have to talk this through. You can't just walk away now-"

"Why?!"

" _Why?_ Because you just can't, okay? If you walk away now it'll destroy you, Temperance! And I'm not going to allow that!"

She huffed aghast and stood up. "Booth, you should know by now that I can take of my self! Why do you always think you can patronize me?!" She'd started walking up and down the length of the hotel room, not believing what she'd just heard. _I trusted him! And he betrayed me! Lied to me!_

"Because, Temperance, this is one of the times where I'm right for once and you are wrong!" He'd stood up as well.

"You're not my master! Just stop it Booth!"

He shook his head "Please, Bones, just try me, okay? She's going to come here in a few hours and you're going to stay here in this room and just _talk_ , okay? No people, no distractions, nothing, alright? If you want I can leave, too. But please, Temperance, talk to her. He'd walked in front of her by now and was now holding both of her hands. Locking eyes and trying to make her understand his point. "Just one more time. If you decide to never talk to her again after this then I'm going to accept that, okay? We'll be on the next plane home."

Brennan stared at his eyes for a moment, seeing his love shining back at her. She sighed and let her shoulders slouch. "Okay, Booth. Maybe your right…"

He nodded and embraced her again, leaving a kiss in her hair. "Thank you, Bones. You'll see, everything will turn out okay."

"If you say so", she told him still unconvinced. "What did she say when you called her?"

 _Booth listened to the shower being turned on by Brennan. He sat at the bed, phone in his hand and took a deep breath. He knew she wouldn't be happy about him doing this but he had to. She would regret it otherwise and he would, too._

 _So he took one last deep breath and dialed the unfamiliar number._

 _"_ _Hello?" a very exhausted voice answered a few rings later._

 _"_ _Hi Lauren, it's me, Booth."_

 _"_ _Booth? Why are you calling me? Is my Mom okay?"_

 _He heard the panic in her voice immediately and silently breathed out in relief. She did care after all. "Yes, don't worry she's okay. She's in the shower right and doesn't know I'm calling you so I don't have much time. Listen kid, I'm sorry how things went between you two earlier, I-"_

 _"_ _I'm sorry, too! I didn't mean to snap at her like that, I swear! I was just so angry suddenly, I don't know…"_

 _"_ _It's alright, really. I think your Mom feels the same. And that's why I'm calling. You two have to talk about this, really_ talk. _That fight was bound to happen, I knew that. Your mother is a very stubborn person and I can feel that you are, too. But Bones is also very sensible when it comes to matters of the heart and I think the same goes for you. So maybe you could come by tomorrow morning and you can talk about everything. Sound good?"_

 _Even though there was a little pause after that, the girl eventually agreed. Right on time because Booth could hear the shower had stopped a moment ago._

 _"_ _Great, it'll all be okay, I promise. Your Mom has finished now so I gotta go. I'll send you the details of our hotel via message, alright?"_

 _"_ _Yes… and Booth?"_

 _"_ _Yeah, kid?"_

 _"_ _Thank you for calling, it means a lot to me."_

 _"_ _No big deal, Lauren. I'll see you in the morning."_

 _Half a minute later Brennan stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around her body and another one wrapped around her hair. She looked exhausted and Booth could only hope that it would really turn out okay the next morning. He hated to see her suffer._

 _"_ _Have you booked a plane, Booth?" Her voice sounded dull while she rummaged through her already packed suitcase._

 _He hesitated a moment but decided then to let her have her peace for today. "Yep. We're leaving here around 4pm, that should be enough time."_

 _"_ _Okay."_

 _He prayed silently that they would be_ okay.

"You really think she didn't meant what she said?"

"Yes, Bones, I think she was just overwhelmed with everything. Give her a chance to explain herself, huh? She really sounded like she's looking forward to talking to you again."

Brennan smiled slightly. "That's a nice thought."

"Yeah. How about we go back to sleep, huh? It's only a few hours now and you should be alert." He stroked her back gently and he noticed her body relaxing further and further against his'.

She just nodded already half asleep again. The previous day really had riled her up a lot, followed by her dream and their minor disagreement just a few minutes ago all growing on her now. So she let Booth lead her back to their bed and back in his embrace she could finally fall asleep peacefully.

* * *

 **How do you think their second meeting will go? Please let me know! :)**

 **xx Felinxx**


End file.
